Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Whoa. It's crazy to me to think that back in October I had this idea I thought was a little crazy, and now it's HAPPENING!! In just one week I am going to Barranquilla for two months!!

I guess it was in November that we discovered G's university has an intensive 3 week immersion program from 8:30 - 1:30, Monday - Friday, starting February 11th! The next one isn't till July or something. So I'll study hard for my first 3 weeks and then spend a month just practicing and being in the culture, as well as relaxing and recovering from the last few months of work.

It was pretty rough closing down our offices here, I have to admit. I've still been on board part-time this January, training my replacements by phone and computer from home. It worked out pretty well to still have a bit of money coming in for the month, but not try to start a new job before leaving the country for 2 months. Working part-time has really let me see just how much energy full-time takes out of me. I've started cooking again and have been getting little things done around the house like unpack a few boxes that have been sitting there since we moved in 1 1/2 years ago! I'm going to see what kind of a balance I can keep when I get back between having fewer hours of work but still bringing in enough income to do all the things like music lessons and whatnot that make me happy.

But for right now, my whole focus is to get ready for the trip!! I already have a bunch of my clothes packed, I got a travel guitar for Christmas, G is staying here so I don't have to worry too much about who will take care of stuff around the house while I'm gone. (I'm the one who makes more of the messes anyway. *blush*)

It feels like the biggest decision I need to make is whether or not to suspend my cell service while I'm gone. I think it'll save us some money to do it, but that also means NO VOICEMAIL. So anyone calling in will get a frustrating "This number is temporarily disconnected" message. I'm thinking that most people who call me also know me well enough that they've got my email, but I'm still a bit paranoid about anything else. ergh. Still have time to decide...

Welcome to My Travel Blog!

November 2010 - I returned to Colombia for a two week visit and went to Medallin for the first time.

From February - March of 2008, I spent two months in beautiful Barranquilla Colombia, studying Spanish at Universidad Del Norte and by immersion.

My husband was born there, and I stayed with his awesome family. Ever since we met I have wanted to improve my Spanish from the few words and phrases I remembered from High School to actual fluency so I can talk with his family, and so I could understand any of our future bilingual kids. ;-)

I've used this blog the few times I've been to Colombia before, so the older entries have a lot of my raw first impressions of the country (or at least the parts I visited.) I will probably use it again when I go back to visit, as I'm sure I will!